A New Journey
by hunter049
Summary: Hunter has the entire world in front of him, and at 15 years old with his first ever Pokemon, he's ready to explore it. With battles and friendships everywhere, he's determined to rise above the rest.
1. A Charmander to Call His Own

**Well, obviously I don't own Pokemon, as I'm not rich and the franchise doesn't blow. Well, that second one's debatable, very much so, but you can PM me for that and more. Anyways...**

**This is my first Pokemon fanfic. I've been a fan of the games for a very long time, although the cards caught my interest briefly and the show was cool, in the OK sort of way. Like good, but probably not winning any awards because there are much better shows out there. Nothing to report on the manga, since I never read it. **

**Anyways, this'll be like the games in inspiration, but I'll try to make the actual things a trifle more realistic and in-depth than just the games, walking around and people talking to you and just moves and damage and such. So in a way, it is like the anime. OCs can be included, so PM me or review or whatever if you want to do that. **

**Otherwise, my character will be the protagonist, and it'll all start off in the classic starter town with whatever professor I think of, whether canon or of my own creation.**

**With that long Author's Note over and done with, let's get started!**

* * *

There are legions of creatures in this world known as Pokemon, each with unique powers and abilities. People bond with Pokemon, and friendships form. These connections grow stronger through various means, from traveling together as friends to battling together. Those that battle together have a special connection, known as a Trainer/Pokemon relationship.

This world can be dangerous, from strong Trainers to wild Pokemon to Team Rocket and its several branches across every region. Even weakened in the center of this criminal organization, lately these thugs and thieves have gathered and started to aspire towards what they used to be, before a mysterious Trainer known as Red had destroyed the entire organization, taking down even the powerful leader...

Yet this world can be wonderful, filled with friendships of the human and Pokemon type. The bonds created through travel and battles is incredible, and every step taken together can bring entities closer than anything else.

Thus is the world of Pokemon.

* * *

"Hunter!" cried his mother. She shook her head at the laziness of her only son.

Upstairs, the aforementioned son sat up on the mess of covers he'd created over the night, his hair sticking up wildly. His eyes were at half-mast before the meaning of that day struck him and he bolted out of bed.

He opened his door just enough to yell back, "Coming, Mom! Let me get ready!"

She said, "If you'd slept on time last night, you would have had plenty of time to get ready. Now hurry! Professor Palmer said she wanted you in her lab by noon!" Then his mother walked into the kitchen to prepare her perpetually hapless son a breakfast fitting for the first day of his lifelong journey into the world.

Back with Hunter in his room, the boy frantically combed his black hair down into something respectable. Everything was nicely groomed except for one pesky area at the side of his head. He shrugged; what mattered was the Pokemon, not his hair.

He'd been researching every starter Pokemon available in every region the night before, along with common beginning Pokemon that are encountered, hence why he'd slept and woken up so late. Hunter grinned at his reflection in the bathroom as he realized, with 15 years under his belt, he was old enough to be given a Pokemon.

He knew others got them earlier if they had the money, but his mother was a close friend of Professor Palmer, and was also a bit overprotective. So she'd arranged for him to get his new companion on his 15th birthday.

He stretched before putting on a grey shirt and a black jacket, then a pair of black jeans. He topped it all off with a dark blue civil war cap that his father gave him. Hunter didn't like to think of his father much; after his disappearance, the hat was the only thing he had of his father. So the hat meant a lot to him.

He stuffed his backpack with a couple more sets of clothing, his Xtransceiver, two sleeping bags on the sides, and a couple travel pillows. There was still room, but he figured his mother would want to add a few things anyways.

He opened his door, stepped outside and looked one last time at his room. He probably wouldn't come back for a while. Hunter nodded to himself and closed the door.

* * *

Breakfast came and went, and his mother looked at her son proudly. He looked ready for anything the world could throw at him. She packed a few snacks, then transferred him some money to put in his deep pocket.

He looked up warmly at his mother, and they hugged. Then his eyes focused on the clock. It read 11:55 AM. His eyes widened.

"Gotta go, Mom! I'm going to be late!"

She smiled as he rushed out the door, and watched him shrink in the distance. She knew her son would be a great Trainer. She turned, went inside the house, and closed the door.

* * *

Hunter sprinted to the other side of their somewhat small town, attracting a few strange gazes and a couple dirty looks from people he _slightly_ pushed.

"Finally..." he panted, and looked at his Xtransceiver. It put him right on time at the door to Professor Palmer's lab. He entered wearily, having ran at least a mile. An intern handed him a bottle of fresh water, and he gratefully drank it.

The professor smiled as she was informed her friend's son had just arrived. She turned and Hunter looked up at her. Professor Palmer greeted him.

"Hello Hunter. I'm Professor Cherry Palmer."

He smiled. "I know. You're a good friend of my mom."

"Thanks. Now that you're fifteen, you can finally get a Pokemon. Choose from this list of discovered starter Pokemon." She handed Hunter a brochure, but he quickly returned it.

"I spent all of last night making my choice among these Pokemon. I know which one to choose. I pick-"

"Hi Mom!" A voice happily said, and Hunter turned around to see a blonde girl, about his age and height, addressing the professor.

"I didn't know you had kids, Professor," Hunter said.

The Pokemon professor laughed. "Well, I _do_ have a life outside of Pokemon. Hunter, I'd like for you to meet Cherry. Cherry, this is Hunter, son of a friend of mine."

Cherry stuck her hand out and Hunter shook it. "Hi," she beamed.

"Hello." Hunter said, half sure of his own words.

"Now, Hunter, what Pokemon were you going to choose?" The elder Palmer asked.

"I choose Charmander." He confidently stated.

"Nice choice," she complimented. Then she turned to her daughter. "And you?"

"I'd like a Snivy." Cherry said.

Her mother nodded, and after pushing a few buttons next to a tube, two pokeballs popped out of the tube. She handed each teen a capsule, and smiled at them, considering something.

"Hmm... Hunter, would you mind filling this out? You too, honey." She handed the two teens a red device.

"It's a Pokedex. It would help out my research greatly if you helped, and it would make understanding different Pokemon easier for Trainers like yourselves."

Hunter nodded happily. "It'd be an honor."

Cherry nodded as well. "I'd love to, Mom."

"Thank you, both of you. Here," she handed each new Trainer five pokeballs. "Be careful on your journey, and visit if you get the chance, you hear?"

The teens nodded and left the lab. Outside, Cherry considered her fellow Trainer. "Hey, Hunter. How about we trade numbers? That way, we can call each other. It gets lonely on a journey, so having friends helps!"

Hunter nodded. Taking out their Xtransceivers, he registered her number and she registered his.

"I'll see you in the nearest town, I hope," she said, then headed out.

"Hunter!" A familiar voice called from the lab. "I forgot to ask you to register me in your Xtransceiver so I can keep tabs on your progress."

Hunter nodded and registered the professor in his Xtransceiver. Before returning inside, the professor said, "Bonding earlier helps. Maybe let your Pokemon walk with you on your journey." The doors slid open and she entered.

He carefully took out the pokeball at his belt, and summoned his Charmander.

"Come on out, Charmander!" He said, then hurled his pokeball into the air. A red light shined out, and an orange Pokemon came down with the capsule in its paw.

"Char!" It happily said, and handed him the pokeball.

* * *

**Well, that's the intro. The protagonist now has a Charmander and 5 chances to catch another Pokemo****n. Other than that, I'm accepting OCs, don't forget. Just put detail into it. ** **I hope you liked this chapter, review if you have the time. Otherwise, I'm still grateful you even read it. **

**Thanks! **


	2. Two More Slots Filled

**Just so you know... I don't own Pokemon****.**

* * *

As it turns out, Charmander didn't actually say its abbrievated name. It had let out a small roar, and Hunter had vaguely twisted it to be "Char."

Hunter was a bit disappointed, but it made sense. Pokemon were creatures, most unable to speak. But that wasn't to say they weren't smart; otherwise they couldn't really learn moves or truly bond with their trainer.

Charmander laid, on its belly, on Hunter's blue cap, its tail shining brightly as the pair entered the Emerald Forest nearby, which eventually lead to the next town, Prosa Town. Hunter stopped once he couldn't see his old town.

"Charmander, let's rest here for a bit while I make sure we're OK on the map." The Pokemon hopped off obediently and explored, while Hunter rummaged through his backpack.

"Now, we're roughly here... yup. Alright, so through here and follow the road. Seems simple en- oof!" Hunter exclaimed after his Charmander ran into him.

"What's up, Charmander?" He asked. It pointed to the now rustling bushes, and from it flew a rather irate Pidgey.

Hunter stowed his map in his pocket, and turned towards Pidgey. Charmander knew its Trainer was ready to battle.

"Charmander, Ember!" Hunter ordered. The red Pokemon spun to spray Pidgey with embers from the flame on its tail, and Pidgey hovered over the ground, beating its wings and spraying sand everywhere.

"Charmander, scratch!" The Pokemon rubbed some sand from its eyes, and lunged to scratch the bird Pokemon, but missed and struck air. Pidgey pecked at Charmander, sending the lizard straight down to the ground.

"Charmander!" Hunter yelled, running over to check if his Pokemon was alright. It had a few scratches from impact, but growled and stood, refusing to stay down.

Hunter grinned. His Pokemon was hardy, and determined to win. "Alright then. Charmander, use Growl!"

The lizard growled loudly, and Hunter saw some fear in the wild Pidgey's eyes, along with a more flight pattern. Nonetheless, the bird Pokemon flew high, before diving straight down. Hunter waited, until...

"Dodge, then use Ember!"

Charmander sidestepped the attack then spun, embers hitting Pidgey's face as it lay after having crashed. It hopped to its feet, then kicked up more dust to blind Charmander.

Charmander growled as it took out sand from its eyes. "Scratch!"

The lizard scratched everywhere it could hit, and the Pidgey was nearing its breaking point. It was clearly tired.

"Alright. Pokeball time." Hunter tossed a Pokeball, bouncing off its wing and sucking the bird Pokemon in with a ray of light. The ball shook, each movement an attempt to escape by Pidgey.

Finally, the ball glowed, and the movements ceased. Hunter stood with his Charmander, before smiling and hugging his red friend. "We did it, Charmander. Our first Pokemon capture, and it's a Pidgey!"

He ran over and attached the Pokeball to his belt, the other four waiting for their time. "Charmander, return. You did fantastically."

Charmander returned to its Pokeball, glad to rest. Hunter set up camp near a few trees, and once satisfied, summoned both his Pokemon.

"Hello, Pidgey. We're going to be good friends. Here's your food." He placed some food in his palm, and fed Pidgey until it was full.

"Charmander, here's some for you, too." Charmander ate until it was full, and Hunter returned both Pokemon to their capsules to rest and digest.

* * *

After a power nap, Hunter woke up. He was covered with fallen leaves, and looked up to see a Mankey hopping around, eating high berries and generally making a mess below.

A pit fell on Hunter's hat, and it fell to the ground. Hunter took out Charmander's Pokeball and threw it to summon his fiery pokemon.

"Charmander, Ember!" Hunter commanded, and Mankey looked down only to get hit with burning pieces in its face. The wild Pokemon fell, but managed to land on its feet, and was clearly angry from being interrupted during its meal.

It screeched, and Charmander flinched slightly, before looking at its Trainer. "Um, alright, hit it with Scratch!"

Charmander lunged forward, but the Mankey easily dodged and kicked Charmander into a tree trunk. Charmander slowly got up, but it was winded and a bit tired. "Ember, then Scratch!"

The lizard launched more bits of flame at the monkey Pokemon before rushing up to scratch into its face. Mankey growled and threw a punch towards Charmander. "Dodge, then Ember!"

Charmander swerved, before spinning to throw more embers into the monkey Pokemon's face at point-blank range. The Mankey was furious, and grabbed Charmander's tail to fling the lizard to the ground.

Charmander hit the ground hard, and was nearly out. "Charma-"

The Mankey threw Charmander into the air, before delivering a swift kick back down. Charmander fainted on impact.

"No... Charmander, return! Come on out, Pidgey!" He was certain that, with Mankey so tired, a quick fight with pidgey would be enough for a capture, or at least a faint.

"Pidgey, Sand Attack!" The bird blew up sand into the monkey's eyes, and it threw blind punches as Pidgey smartly hovered overhead.

"Dive down and use Peck!" The bird obliged, hurling down before landing on Mankey's head to peck several times.

"Gust!" Pidgey flew up out of the Mankey's range, and beat its wings hard. The resulting wind blew Mankey into a tree, nearly making it faint.

"Good. Pokeball!" Hunter threw the capsule, and the Mankey was sucked in. The ball shook, shook, and shook, until a small glow brightened the night.

Hunter realized, it was nighttime. He'd slept through the day, and now his Pokemon needed medicine.

"Hope Mom packed some Potions or at least berries..." Hunter smiled as he found a dozen small Potions in a pocket, along with a note revealing that his mother knew her son would forget to buy some before heading out.

"She knows me too well," Hunter admitted sheepishly, before summoning a very weak Charmander.

"Hold still, buddy. This won't hurt a bit, I hope." He sprayed the Potion over the Charmander, excluding the ever-lit (but at the moment somewhat small and dim) tail flame.

Slowly, the Potion absorbed into the skin, and Charmander's flame grew. Letting out a proud but understandably small roar, it stood and Hunter knew it felt better.

He took out his Mankey and applied Potion to it as well, since it was newly caught and still very tired and hurt.

"Mankey, I'll be your Trainer. I'll make you stronger, or at least try my hardest."

The monkey looked the Trainer over with serious eyes, then nodded and returned to its Pokeball upon command.

"Charmander, it's dark. Mind lighting the way? We need to get to Prosa Town."

Charmander nodded, and walked slightly in front of its Trainer as they continued their journey, accompanied this time by the moon.


End file.
